Subarctic thermokarst 16s

Permafrost degradation leads to the erosion of palsas and the formation of thermokarst ponds, which are known for their high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of soil-water connectivity on the composition of microbial communities in thermokarst ponds. By analysing potential and active microbial communities based on 16s rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants, we investigated how phylogenetic diversity changes through the formation of thermokarst lakes, along with microbial community assembly processes. Samples were collected from a palsa, surrounding peat and pore water, including a recent pond strongly connected to the palsa and two mature ponds, one older and more structured and the other less connected to the palsa.